A portion of the surface of a cylindrical part with a machined groove is mapped with an optical profilometer during the manufacturing process and the height map is fitted to a virtual cylindrical configuration that best fits the data. Two-dimensional Fourier Transfer analysis of the map data is advantageously used to find the orientation of the groove on the part. The orientation of the groove is then compared to the longitudinal axis of such virtual cylinder to calculate the groove's lead angle. If the measured lead angle is outside a predetermined design tolerance deemed acceptable for manufacturing purposes, the part is removed from the fabrication line.
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1. A method of detecting a defect for quality-control purposes in a lead angle of a groove in a surface of a part during a manufacturing process of the part, comprising the following steps: profiling a region of the surface with an optical profilometer to obtain a three-dimensional height map of said region of the surface; fitting said height map to a virtual three-dimensional geometric shape, thereby defining an orientation of a preferred axis thereof; determining said lead angle by comparing an orientation of said groove with said orientation of the preferred axis of the geometric shape; and removing said part from the manufacturing process when the lead angle falls outside a predetermined range of acceptable design values; wherein said profiling, fitting and determining steps are carried out with a processor.
A method for checking the lead angle of a groove on a part during manufacturing, to ensure quality. First, use an optical profilometer to scan the part's surface and create a 3D height map. Then, fit this height map to a virtual 3D geometric shape (like a cylinder), defining its axis. Next, determine the groove's lead angle by comparing the groove's orientation to the shape's axis. Finally, if the lead angle is outside the acceptable range, automatically remove the part from the production line. All steps are performed by a processor.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said part is a shaft.
The method of detecting defects for quality-control described previously, where an optical profilometer creates a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, is applied where the part being inspected is a shaft.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said part includes a frusto-conical structure.
The method of detecting defects for quality-control described previously, where an optical profilometer creates a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, is applied where the part includes a frusto-conical structure.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said groove is a product of machining the part.
The method of detecting defects for quality-control described previously, where an optical profilometer creates a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, is applied where the groove was created by machining the part.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining step is carried out with a harmonic analysis of the height map.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, determining the lead angle involves harmonic analysis of the height map. Harmonic analysis breaks down the height map into its constituent frequencies to accurately determine the groove's orientation.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said harmonic analysis is a two-dimensional Fourier Transform analysis.
In the method using harmonic analysis of the height map to determine the lead angle, which is part of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape, the harmonic analysis is specifically a two-dimensional Fourier Transform analysis. This converts the spatial data of the height map into frequency data, making groove orientation easier to identify.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining step is carried out with a correlation technique.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, determining the lead angle involves using a correlation technique to match the scanned groove profile with a known good profile.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining step is carried out with a 2-dimensional digital filtering technique.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, determining the lead angle involves using a two-dimensional digital filtering technique to isolate and enhance the groove's signal in the height map.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said lead angle is used to pass or fail the part based on a predetermined threshold value.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, the measured lead angle is directly used to pass or fail the part based on a set threshold. If the angle is within tolerance, the part passes; otherwise, it fails.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said profiling, fitting and determining steps are repeated for multiple regions of the part's surface to calculate respective lead angles that are then averaged to obtain a final lead-angle value.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, the steps of profiling, fitting, and determining the lead angle are repeated for multiple regions of the part's surface. The lead angles from each region are then averaged to obtain a more reliable final lead angle value.
11. The method of claim 10 , further including the steps of calculating a parameter of said multiple regions of the part's surface based on said profiling steps, and of disregarding a region when calculating said final lead-angle value if said parameter of the region exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, which also repeats the process for multiple regions of the part and averages the results, a parameter is calculated for each region. If a region's parameter exceeds a certain threshold (indicating poor data quality), that region's lead angle is disregarded when calculating the final average lead angle.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said profiling step is repeated for multiple regions of the part's surface and the respective height maps thereof are stitched together for performing said fitting and determining steps.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, the profiling step is repeated across multiple regions of the part's surface. The resulting height maps from each region are then stitched together to create a single, larger height map before fitting it to the geometric shape and determining the lead angle.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said geometric shape is a cylinder.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map that is fit to a geometric shape in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, the geometric shape used for fitting the height map data is specifically a cylinder.
14. A method detecting a defect for quality-control purposes in a lead angle of a groove in a surface of a part during a manufacturing process of the part determining the lead angle of a groove on a part's surface, comprising the following steps: profiling a region of the surface with an optical profilometer to obtain a three-dimensional height map of said region of the surface; defining an orientation of a preferred axis of the part based on an expected value of locally determined preferred axes; determining said lead angle by comparing an orientation of said groove with said orientation of the preferred axis of the part; and removing said part from the manufacturing process when the lead angle falls outside a predetermined range of acceptable design values; wherein said profiling, defining and determining steps are carried out with a processor.
A method for checking the lead angle of a groove on a part during manufacturing, to ensure quality. First, use an optical profilometer to scan the part's surface and create a 3D height map. Then, define the orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes. Next, determine the groove's lead angle by comparing the groove's orientation to this defined part axis. Finally, if the lead angle is outside the acceptable range, automatically remove the part from the production line. All steps are performed by a processor.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein said part is a shaft.
The method of detecting defects for quality-control described previously, where an optical profilometer creates a 3D height map and the orientation of the part’s preferred axis is defined based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, is applied where the part being inspected is a shaft.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein said groove is a product of machining the part.
The method of detecting defects for quality-control described previously, where an optical profilometer creates a 3D height map and the orientation of the part’s preferred axis is defined based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, is applied where the groove was created by machining the part.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein said determining step is carried out with a harmonic analysis of the height map.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map and defining the orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, determining the lead angle involves harmonic analysis of the height map. Harmonic analysis breaks down the height map into its constituent frequencies to accurately determine the groove's orientation.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein said harmonic analysis is a two-dimensional Fourier Transform analysis.
In the method using harmonic analysis of the height map to determine the lead angle, which is part of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map and defining the orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes, the harmonic analysis is specifically a two-dimensional Fourier Transform analysis. This converts the spatial data of the height map into frequency data, making groove orientation easier to identify.
19. The method of claim 14 , wherein said determining step is carried out with a correlation technique.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map and defining the orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, determining the lead angle involves using a correlation technique to match the scanned groove profile with a known good profile.
20. The method of claim 14 , wherein said determining step is carried out with a 2-dimensional digital filtering technique.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map and defining the orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, determining the lead angle involves using a two-dimensional digital filtering technique to isolate and enhance the groove's signal in the height map.
21. The method of claim 14 , wherein said lead angle is used to pass or fail the part based on a predetermined threshold value.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map and defining the orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, the measured lead angle is directly used to pass or fail the part based on a set threshold. If the angle is within tolerance, the part passes; otherwise, it fails.
22. The method of claim 14 , wherein said profiling, fitting and determining steps are repeated for multiple regions of the part's surface to calculate respective lead angles that are then averaged to obtain a final lead-angle value.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map and defining the orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, the steps of profiling and determining the lead angle are repeated for multiple regions of the part's surface. The lead angles from each region are then averaged to obtain a more reliable final lead angle value.
23. The method of claim 22 , further including the steps of calculating a parameter of said multiple regions of the part's surface based on said profiling steps, and of disregarding a region when calculating said final lead-angle value if said parameter of the region exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map and defining the orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, which also repeats the process for multiple regions of the part and averages the results, a parameter is calculated for each region. If a region's parameter exceeds a certain threshold (indicating poor data quality), that region's lead angle is disregarded when calculating the final average lead angle.
24. The method of claim 14 , wherein said profiling step is repeated for multiple regions of the part's surface and the respective height maps thereof are stitched together for performing said fitting and determining steps.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map and defining the orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, the profiling step is repeated across multiple regions of the part's surface. The resulting height maps from each region are then stitched together to create a single, larger height map before defining the part’s axis and determining the lead angle.
25. The method of claim 14 , wherein said geometric shape is a cylinder.
In the method of detecting defects for quality-control using an optical profilometer to create a 3D height map and defining the orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes in order to determine the lead angle of the groove, the geometric shape used for fitting the height map data is specifically a cylinder.
26. Non-transitory computer readable medium containing computer instructions stored therein for causing a computer processor to perform the steps of detecting a defect for quality-control purposes in a lead angle of a groove in a surface of a part during a manufacturing process of the part by profiling a region of the surface with an optical profilometer to obtain a height map of said region of the surface, fitting said height map to a virtual three-dimensional geometric shape, thereby defining an orientation of a preferred axis thereof, determining said lead angle by comparing an orientation of said groove with said orientation of the preferred axis of the geometric shape; and automatically removing said part from said manufacturing process when said lead angle falls outside a predetermined range of acceptable design values.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform quality control by: obtaining a height map of a part's surface groove using an optical profilometer, fitting the height map to a virtual 3D geometric shape to determine its axis, calculating the groove's lead angle by comparing its orientation to the geometric shape's axis, and automatically removing the part from manufacturing if the lead angle is outside acceptable limits.
27. Non-transitory computer readable medium containing computer instructions stored therein for causing a computer processor to perform the steps of detecting a defect for quality-control purposes in a lead angle of a groove in a surface of a part during a manufacturing process of the part by profiling a region of the surface with an optical profilometer to obtain a height map of said region of the surface, defining an orientation of a preferred axis of the part based on an expected value of locally determined preferred axes, determining said lead angle by comparing an orientation of said groove with said orientation of the preferred axis of the part; and automatically removing said part from said manufacturing process when said lead angle falls outside a predetermined range of acceptable design values.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform quality control by: obtaining a height map of a part's surface groove using an optical profilometer, defining an orientation of the part’s preferred axis based on the expected value of locally determined preferred axes, calculating the groove's lead angle by comparing its orientation to the defined part axis, and automatically removing the part from manufacturing if the lead angle is outside acceptable limits.
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October 8, 2016
September 5, 2017
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